Dance Commentary and Reviews by Heather Desaulniers, freelance dance critic, former dancer and choreographer, PhD in dance history.

Monday, February 25, 2013

"Analog"

choreography
by Katharine Hawthorne

Joe Goode
Annex, San Francisco

February 23rd,
2013

Katharine
Hawthorne’s second full-length work, “Analog”, comprehensively studies range of
motion. This sixty-five minute contemporary dance performance creates a
‘living’ Venn Diagram, where our physical/kinesthetic boundaries form one
circle and movement possibilities form the second. From there, Hawthorne seeks
to understand that important middle area of intersection, and to that end, how
the physical (anatomy, space) affects range of motion. Rudolf Laban would be
proud to see such a pure examination of direction, articulation, and extremes.

Photo: Ben Hersh

“Analog’s”
sole set piece was an overhead projector (credited as ‘Apollo’ in the program)
that displayed different patent specification drawings throughout the dance.
This projector was moved several times during the piece so that the projections
could appear in differing places on the two huge white walls. The first patent
transparency was that of an artificial hand (file date – 1927) and provided the
first image for Hawthorne’s choreographic exploration. After a brief entrance
phrase, the entire cast (three women, two men) began a long section of hand
intonation. A wide variety of movements were present: small and large; relaxed
and static; voluntary and involuntary, abrupt and deliberate. This lengthy
variation crescendoed over time, building into a more abandoned full body
segment, where the hand movement was still the obvious point of initiation.

Next, the
overhead projector was moved farther away so that it could display a new patent
drawing on a much larger scale, encompassing most of one wall. Three dancers
began a new movement phrase right in front of this ‘projected screen’, creating
a sense that they were in front of the image, yet in it at the same time. This
portion of “Analog” was a choreographical highlight, a throw back to early
Cunningham: straightness in the spine, elastic limbs, all planes of the body
(sagittal, coronal, transverse). This vignette was also proof that Hawthorne is
drawn to interpreting all ranges of motion, from individual anatomy to the
whole body in space. And for such a physical piece, there was only one very
minor collision throughout – the dancers for the most part had very good
spatial awareness.

“Analog’s”
repetitive motion/accumulation chapter was another standout. Here, the entire
cast began with the same movement: unfolding the right side of the body. Then,
different individuals moved on and added to this initial step, at their own
pace, in their own time. After a while, all five were back in unison, having
reached a new movement pattern. Brilliantly camouflaged within Hawthorne’s
choreography, this was all underscored by a very appropriate and well-matched
heartbeat soundscape.

My only
criticism is that some of the internal segments were a little long. Not all of
them, but a few went on well past their prime. The ending also seemed a bit
ill-timed. About five minutes before the blackout, there was a clear wind-down
where the dancers met with a moment of repose. It would have been a perfect
ending, but instead, there was a final burst of energy. While it was impressive
that the cast could rally for one last set of movement phrases, the final five
minutes felt like an extra, unrelated add-on.